First 1,000 Miles Driving A Tesla Model 3 Long Range: Charging

I feel after 1000 miles I am getting a far more realistic view of Tesla and the rose colored glasses have been far more reduced. It’s not that I don’t think it’s a comfortable or enjoyable experience driving a Tesla but I just have a far more realistic view on the car and what it can do and can’t do.

V3 Supercharging

Tesla’s website states ‘Recharge up to 172 mi in 15 minutes at Supercharger locations’ actually requires V3 Supercharger however much of California is up to 72-120kW and Wisconsin is mostly up to 120-150kW in my findings which is fast but not what Tesla advertises on their website. https://www.tesla.com/supercharger

Charging Comparison

The first V3 Supercharger is technically in Fremont, CA, but are reserved for special “early access program,” Tesla owners and not the general pubic.

The only public V3 Superchargers (250kw) I could find was Linq High Roller Las Vegas, NV which has a total of 24 Supercharger stations.

Linq High Roller V3 Vegas

Techcrunch mentioned a couple other locations with V3 chargers but don’t appear to be public because Tesla’s website still lists these locations with lower kW power, although Hy-Vee in Madison, Wisconsin is listed at 120kW however is capable of up to 150kW.

Per Techcrunch, “There are caveats to the capabilities of this Supercharger station. Only one Tesla vehicle — the Model 3 Long Range iteration — can charge at the peak rate of 250 kW. The 250 kW results in up to 180 miles of range added to the battery in 15 minutes on a Model 3 Long Range.”

I really hope this will be the case in the next 12-months in more locations because it would mean very little downtime to travel across the country.

The first V3 Supercharger is technically in Fremont, CA, but are reserved for special “early access program,” Tesla owners and not the general pubic.

The only public V3 Superchargers (250kw) I could find was Linq High Roller Las Vegas, NV which has a total of 24 Supercharger stations.

Techcrunch mentioned a couple other locations with V3 chargers but don’t appear to be public because Tesla’s website still lists these locations with lower kW power, although Hy-Vee in Madison, Wisconsin is listed at 120kW however is capable of up to 150kW.

Per Techcrunch, “There are caveats to the capabilities of this Supercharger station. Only one Tesla vehicle — the Model 3 Long Range iteration — can charge at the peak rate of 250 kW. The 250 kW results in up to 180 miles of range added to the battery in 15 minutes on a Model 3 Long Range.”

I really hope this will be the case in the next 12-months in more locations because it would mean very little downtime to travel across the country.

“We’ll focus on long-distance routes, so if you’re in a hurry to get from one city to another, you can go as fast as possible. Then also, we’re replacing some of the Version 1 Superchargers – some of the old Superchargers will take priority,” Per Elon Musk. “There are some out there that still charge at 75 kW, so we’ll replace those first on long-distance routes.”

I have been learning recently that some Tesla Model 3 owners have seen their charging capabilities reduced by up to 6%. I find this very disconcerting to update your car and find it’s range reduced without some sort of warning or disclaimer. My Model 3 still charges up to approx 279-280 mi when I let the car charge to the default amount for regular charging however it appears to only be time when I will lose range with a future software update. Model S/X owners have already seen a range reduction after being updated but it wasn’t as blatant, far more hidden with the range reading the proper high amount and reducing after driving 10 miles to the new reduced amount minus 10 miles. How awkward?

Charging at Home

I was out working one afternoon and returned with 54 miles left in the battery. The screen displayed a message recommending that I plug in the car immediately and mention if the temperature outside was to drop that range would be lower. I plugged in the car around 7pm and by 9am, the car now reads 225 mi range (+171)! Don’t underestimate plugging into a 240V socket for 12/mi per hour. There is something about waking up to a charged battery that feels really refreshing.

1/2 Priced Charging in Madison

MG&E (Madison Gas & Electric) in Madison, Wisconsin has Level 1 and Level 2 stations at $2 $1 per hour while the DC Fast Charge station are $5 $2.5 per hour. By signing up for their Electric Vehicle Owners Group you can have these lower hourly rates at their ChargePoint chargers.

DC Fast Charging

DC Fast Charging isn’t a viable option or an option at all for many of us, as of October, 2019 and is far slower than Tesla Supercharging for our cars if it’s available to you. You would need a CHAdeMO adapter (sold out currently) and be limited to 50kW from what I have gathered researching this subject.

Bjørn Nyland saw 120kW at a IONITY 350kW station in his YouTube video. At 50% SOC, he had 40 minutes left to charge battery to 90%. I believe we will see similar speed (120kW or so) when/if Tesla creates a CCS adapter for the North American market.

Grumpy Young Guy Reviews saw around 100kW speed at a IONITY 350kW station with his 2014 Tesla Model S 60. He wondered if he was able to pre-condition the battery before arriving at this station if his charging would have been faster.

Free Charging Downtown Madison

I didn’t realize but we have many locations around the Greater Madison Area that have free charging at 6.6 kW. It’s important to pay attention if the station is shared or not, otherwise that 6.6 kW of power will be split between you and your electric neighbor.

Free Charging Lake Mills

I spent some time looking over a few different Tesla Blogs and saw many owners are wanting a CCS adapter for their cars. The pricing is quite expensive. Would you consider one of these stations? I would like the option if it was a must for a particular trip but I would still consider going out of my way for a Tesla Supercharger!

Referral Code

If you could kindly use my referral link on your purchase of a Tesla Model 3, S or X. I will use my extra Supercharging miles for photographing our beautiful country. ? See below:

⚡⚡⚡ Use my referral link to receive 1,000 free Supercharger miles with the purchase and delivery of a new Tesla car, or earn a $100 award after system activation by purchasing or subscribing to solar panels: https://ts.la/graydon36263